Why so many Flaky Buyers?

Bad thing about buying and selling on the web, lag time and catalog shopping. Some of us take forever to answer an email, the net itself is sometimes slow,down, misderecting email, etc. People don't like hurting your feelings,saying they want it, starting out with good intentions etc. Then you have to realize, sombody else may be posting what you have for sale RIGHT NOW at 50 dollars less, and they are going to look. Audio sites are like a big Sears Chanukah/Christmas Wishbook, only better in that the pages get constantly updated
I think I have about 1/3 of what I get inquiries on the Web sites go through, about 90% on Ebay. Of course its a contract on Ebay,and by bidding the buyer feels more commited. Bad thing there is that you have to answer 5241 questions like
"Why is the minumum bid on your 100wpc Mark Levinson $1500, cause my Scott is rated at 200wpc and I only paid $300 for it". I guess what I am saying is"Welcome to the world of retail", and have a little more pity on thise sales guys in the audio store next time you go in, cause there is a lot of rejection before you get any rewards.

... and don't forget the deteriorating economy. Most of us now have less disposable income then before, hence more "window shopping" and fewer firm sales. I have friends in the car business who have a much worse time then what you've cited above... tons of people taking test drives and looking, but no one buying.

We all have to be prepared to take a little less, give a little more and work a little harder for business. Like all things economic, it will change with time. --Lorne

I think Jvia said it really well. I guess when you sell used "stuff" yourself, you have to be prepared to possibly put in a lot of work, & probably deal with a certain amount of jerks. Like, you could sell your components to a used stereo dealer, or put them on consignment, but you would get that much less (but hopefully save the hassles). Have you ever sold a used car yourself? You get way more than trading it in to a dealer, but is a GIGANTIC PITA.

I'd like to hear on this thread from any audiophiles who constantly buy & sell stuff on the web & how they manage.
One thing I've read a lot, & firmly believe myself, is talk to the buyer or seller on the phone before agreeing to any transaction! A great way to weed people out, if not foolproof. However I've done way more buying than selling so far, & that's a whole other topic full of potential pitfalls..... I've been sandbagged a couple of times by sellers (real jerks) who agreed to my offer & then suddenly backed out. However you'd also be amazed at how many truly ethical, conscientious audiophiles are out there. Good luck!

I don't know if there's any more flaky buyers than there are sellers. I would think that anyone who lists equipment on this site runs the risk of getting bothersome questions and lower than expected offers. I don't care whether I'm buying or selling an item, the polite thing to do is to respond to all inquiries. That's the price you pay for trying to sell or buy on line. If the offer that you receive is lower than what you will accept, politely and firmly tell them so. There probably isn't anyone out there who hasn't asked someone if they'll accept a lower price than the one that's been represented as firm. What harm is there in asking? I, for one, am certainly not going to be offended if someone offers less. If the item I were selling were so desirable and priced right on the money, the first one to respond would probably be tickled to death to have the first crack at a deal. Ironically, many of us feel that what we own is worth the same to others as it is to us, which might not be the case. Audiophilia is a hobby for many and considering the current economic conditions, many prices are lower today. I'm in the retail automobile industry and if you want to see some squirrely buyers, you should see what I see every day. There are better deals out there today than I've ever seen before and still the buyers want more. It's a fact of life...everybody wants more for less, probably more so today than ever before.